Raquel Torre

Destinos, 6th Chicago International Latino Theater Festival, Chicago’s annual citywide festival showcasing Latino theater artists and companies from Chicago, the U.S. and Latin America opens this Thursday, September 28 and runs through November 12, 2023.

The Gift Theatre is welcoming back live audiences with the Chicago premiere of Naomi Iizuka’s drama At the Vanishing Point, directed by Lavina Jadhwani, playing April 28 – May 22, 2022 at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.

The Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics (The Lab) will present the return of The Gathering, a 4-day theater festival on Georgetown University's campus.

The Gift Theatre welcomes back live audiences with the Chicago premiere of Naomi Iizuka's drama At the Vanishing Point, directed by Lavina Jadhwani, playing April 28 – May 22, 2022 at Filament Theatre, 4041 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago.

PlayMakers Laboratory, formerly Barrel of Monkeys, continues its 2019-20 season with THAT'S WEIRD GRANDMA: Travels Through Time, directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, playing Sundays at 3 pm from January 19 – February 16, 2020 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.playmakerslab.org or by calling (773) 506-7140. The press opening is Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 3 pm.

PlayMakers Laboratory, formerly Barrel of Monkeys, is pleased to continue its 2019-20 season with THAT'S WEIRD GRANDMA: Travels Through Time, directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, playing Sundays at 3 pm from January 19 – February 16, 2020 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Tickets go on sale Thursday, December 6 at www.playmakerslab.org or by calling (773) 506-7140. 

Barrel of Monkeys is bringing its much-lauded sketch show THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA to audiences across the city this summer for a series of free performances through the Chicago Park District's Night Out In The Parks initiative. The stories featured in THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA are written by Chicago elementary school students, adapted for the stage and performed by Barrel of Monkeys company members and directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd. No reservations necessary. For additional information, visit www.barrelofmonkeys.org.

Join UrbanTheater Company (UTC) as they take you back to the 80s, to the glory days of house music when Black and Latino dance crews set such legendary local juice bars like Jenal's and Medusas on fire with their dance moves. From June 19 and until August 3, UTC will transform the Chopin Theater, 1543 W. Division St., into a nightclub as they present Back in the Day, artistic director Miranda Gonzalez's work-in-progress adaptation of Jose 'Gringo' Echevarria's memoir The Real Dance Fever: Book One. Co-directed by Gonzalez and Raquel Torre, the final version of Back in the Day will have its world premiere as part of Destinos, the third annual Chicago International Latino Theater Festival (CLATA), in the fall. Back in the Day concludes UTC's 13th season, titled Born and Raised, dedicated to native Chicago playwrights telling neighborhood specific stories.

UrbanTheater Company (UTC) and Teatro Aguijon announced today they will be staging two separate productions of Not for Sale, Guadalis Del Carmen's powerful play about gentrification, as a result of a unique and groundbreaking collaboration. Recently revised by Del Carmen, UTC will present the English-language version of the play, directed by Dominizuelan's Wendy Mateo from March 8 to April 7 at UrbanTheater Company @ Batey Urbano, 2620 W. Division St. on the Paseo Boricua in the heart of Humboldt Park. Teatro Aguijon will present the Spanish-language version translated and directed by Marcela Muñoz in mid-April at their home base, 2707 N. Laramie.

UrbanTheater Company (UTC) and Teatro Aguijon announced today they will be staging two separate productions of Not for Sale, Guadalis Del Carmen's powerful play about gentrification, as a result of a unique and groundbreaking collaboration. Recently revised by Del Carmen, UTC will present the English-language version of the play, directed by Dominizuelan's Wendy Mateo from March 8 to April 7 at UrbanTheater Company @ Batey Urbano, 2620 W. Division St. on the Paseo Boricua in the heart of Humboldt Park. Teatro Aguijon will present the Spanish-language version translated and directed by Marcela Muñoz in mid-April at their home base, 2707 N. Laramie.

Barrel of Monkeys celebrates the season with THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA Rings in the Holidays, directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, playing Mondays at 8 pm (plus special weekend performances) from December 10 - December 22, 2018 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago.

Barrel of Monkeys celebrates the season with THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA Rings in the Holidays, directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, playing Mondays at 8 pm (plus special weekend performances) from December 10 - December 22, 2018 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.barrelofmonkeys.org or by calling (773) 506-7140. 

Barrel of Monkeys presents THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: Stories About Food, featuring a side-splitting lineup of food-related sketches adapted from stories written by Chicago elementary school students.

Barrel of Monkeys invites you to join student-authors, their classmates, families and educators for the annual CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS, featuring performances of student-written stories created at each of its partner schools and after-school program during the 2017-18 season. Performed by Barrel of Monkeys' ensemble of actors and musicians and directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, this FREE event takes place Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 6:30 pm (6:30 pm pre-show reception and activities, 7 pm curtain) at the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. in Chicago. For reservations, please visit barrelofmonkeys.org/coa or call (773) 506-7140. Tickets are limited and available on a first come, first served basis.

Barrel of Monkeys invites you to join student-authors, their classmates, families and educators for the annual CELEBRATION OF AUTHORS, featuring performances of student-written stories created at each of its partner schools and after-school program during the 2017-18 season. Performed by Barrel of Monkeys ensemble of actors and musicians and directed by Artistic Director Brandon Cloyd, this FREE event takes place Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 6:30 pm (6:30 pm pre-show reception and activities, 7 pm curtain) at the University of Chicago's Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St. in Chicago. For reservations, please visit barrelofmonkeys.org/coa or call (773) 506-7140. 

Barrel of Monkeys is bringing back its popular Sunday matinees this fall with THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: Stories on Sunday Afternoons, playing Sundays at 2 pm from October 15 - November 12, 2017 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. The press opening is Sunday, October 22nd. BroadwayWorld has a sneak peek at the cast in action below!

Barrel of Monkeys is bringing its hit revue THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA to audiences across the city this summer - including select FREE performances.

Barrel of Monkeys celebrates its 20th anniversary of arts education in Chicago Public Schools with a special one-night-only event: KIDS WRITE IT: 20 YEARS OF INTERGENERATIONAL STORYTELLING, featuring student-written stories from each of its 20 years, performed by the company's talented team of actor-educators, directed by Artistic Director Joseph Schupbach and co-directed by Co-Founder/Former Artistic Director Halena Kays. KIDS WRITE IT will be held on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm at The Athenaeum Theatre Main Stage, 2936 N. Southport Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at www.athenaeumtheatre.org, by calling (773) 935-6875 or in person at The Athenaeum Theatre Box Office.  

Barrel of Monkeys invites you to enjoy a line-up of brand new stories this summer at THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: Attack of the Phantom of the BBQ directed by Mary Tilden, playing Mondays at 8 pm now through July 17 and August 7 - 28, 2017 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago. Throughout the summer, Barrel of Monkeys will premiere new stories from the 2016-17 school year written by Chicago Public School students and adapted for the stage and performed by Barrel of Monkeys Company Members. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast of 'BBQ' in action below!

Barrel of Monkeys invites you to enjoy a line-up of brand new stories this summer at THAT'S WEIRD, GRANDMA: Attack of the Phantom of the BBQ directed by Mary Tilden, playing Mondays at 8 pm from June 19 - July 17 and August 7 - 28, 2017 at the Neo-Futurist Theater, 5153 N. Ashland Ave. in Chicago.